Typhoon Bilis is expected to continue to blast through Taiwan today bringing with it torrential rains and high winds. It is expected to also trigger mudflows in areas severely stricken by the 921 earthquake last year.
The influence of Typhoon Bilis, which approached the island early yesterday, will remain until it moves into the Taiwan Strait and then on to China around noon today, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said last night. The major effects of the typhoon will dissipate by this evening.
Offices and schools in Taipei and Kaohsiung will be closed today due to the impact of the storm.
PHOTO: CHANG YOU-WEI, LIBERTY TIMES
The strengthening typhoon, classed as a category five -- there is no category six -- and the strongest in Asia this year, has already caused one death and was expected to bring widespread damage to the island with fierce winds of up to 235kph.
The diameter of the typhoon was measured at around 600km, more than the entire 400km length of Taiwan.
Typhoon Bilis was predicted to bring torrential rains, which have led to fears of mudslides in Taichung and Nantou counties, where the land was left particularly susceptible after the 921 earthquake.
According to estimates by the Council of Agriculture (農委會), 370 creeks and rivers in many vulnerable areas in central Taiwan, including Taichung and Nantou counties, are prone to the threat of mudslides. Residents living downstream on these rivers may be asked to move away to avoid risk.
A worker, identified as Lin Mao-tsai (林茂財), was killed yesterday morning by a mudslide while working on the construction of a retaining wall at a garbage site in Taipei County.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yi-Chieh (陳怡傑), a doctor, was reported missing after going hiking in Taroko Gorge in Hualien County. Another nine people shooting a documentary film in Kaoshiung County were stranded in the mountains.
Schools and offices across the island closed yesterday at noon as soon as the storm front hit Hualien and Taitung on the east coast.
The CWB compared the danger and possible damage the island faces as a result of Typhoon Bilis to that caused by Typhoon Tim which hit Taiwan in 1994. Tim left 17 dead, six missing and 70 injured.
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday telephoned Premier Tang Fei (唐飛) from Burkina Faso to check that preparations had been made prior to the arrival of the typhoon.
"The route of this new typhoon will be similar to Typhoon Tim in 1994, which caused great damage in Taiwan," said Deputy Secretary-general to the Presidential Office, Eugene Chien (簡又新).
Chien said that the president woke up both Tang and Vice Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) early yesterday morning Taiwan time, after attending a national banquet held by Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore.
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